Since the Afghan government’s collapse on Aug. 15, 2021, Afghan society has been pummeled by the effects of Taliban leadership. As of Aug. 4, Human Rights Watch estimates that 90% of the Afghan populace faces food insecurity as the economy stagnates and food prices increase.
Meanwhile, donations to assist hungry Afghans continue flagging. Abdul Bari Azimi runs a logistics network that once delivered 2,000 food packages monthly. He now receives only 2% of that volume in orders. Owed tens of thousands of dollars in repayment by former clients, Azimi sells heavy vehicles from his fleet to provide bread through the Azimi Foundation Naan Program.
The nongovernmental organizations that stood up to assist our left-behind Afghan allies are equally devastated by a lack of funds. Stacy Gentile, a volunteer with Operation North Star, told me that his group is assisting 800 allies and their families, just a portion of the estimated 160,000 Afghans desperately awaiting evacuation from the country. Most Afghans on Operation North Star’s manifest cannot be evacuated, as they have no special immigrant visa approval. Gentile says the organization is “almost out of money” and that without Operation North Star’s covert and comprehensive aid, the Afghans they support “will probably be captured or killed.”
Volunteers have also been heavily affected by the burden of supporting Afghans living in perilous conditions. Operation North Star’s volunteer force has dwindled from hundreds to just 75 because, Gentile says, “having to manage the heavy load of logistics [and] stress and carry the financial burden” is “too much.” Evacuation volunteer Leslie Merriman concurs, explaining that resentment, impatience, anger, panic attacks, and “anxiety that is … beyond handling” are commonplace among volunteers.
Among the reasons for volunteers’ concern is the Taliban’s continued reprisal killings of former government and military personnel. Several weeks ago, news broke that professor and former government prosecutor Mumtaz Shirzai was killed mysteriously. Lark Escobar, an evacuation volunteer who tracked Shirzai to help him evacuate Afghanistan, says that media reporting is incorrect. She told me that Shirzai was “taken from his home by a crowd of 15 armed men” and that “his corpse was found hours later, bearing evidence of being tortured to death.” Prior to Shirzai, the Taliban are believed to have killed 26 former government prosecutors.
In another reprisal attack, Merriman told me that former military commander Shah Mahmood Qorishi was shot dead when he crossed into Afghanistan to renew his visa several weeks ago. The Taliban learned he was an American ally when scanning his biometric information utilizing technology the United States left behind. In a similar incident, former Afghan National Police Officer Qais Wold Sarnwal Hossein was reportedly killed by the Taliban because Hossein was alleged to be a member of the Islamic State. The Taliban have used this tactic to cover up reprisal killings in the past.
Conditions remain distressing for other segments of society. Despite pressure from the international community, girls’ secondary schools remain closed, and Afghan women face oppressive rules and harsh treatment. One source indicates the Taliban have engaged in mass killings of Tajik men. There are also widespread allegations that the Taliban are practicing pedophilia and employing child soldiers.
Reports indicate Afghan schools and facilities are being converted into madrassas where young boys will be instructed in Taliban ideology. A special immigrant visa applicant speaking on the condition of anonymity told me that last month, madrassa students visited his home to beg for food. After the applicant told a pupil at his door that he should attend regular school, two Talibs visited the applicant’s home. They warned him he would pay for the mistake of working with foreigners.
The continued presence of terrorists on Afghan soil is especially troubling. Earlier this month, a drone strike killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri, who was reportedly staying in FBI most-wanted terrorist and Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani’s Kabul home. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said harboring al Zawahiri “grossly” violated the 2020 Doha agreement.
In a single year, Western naivete allowed the regime that promised to respect women, give amnesty to its enemies, and create a secure Afghanistan to return to terrorizing the Afghan populace. The West must now be clear-eyed about the threat that the Taliban pose to the world.
Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance writer from the Detroit area.
